NBA JAM

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I came across something interesting, so interesting in fact it made me want to write about it.

I didn’t know (or rather didn’t realise) that there are no less than 6 versions of the original NBA JAM that were released in 1993; now a comparison between the different versions would be interesting, but what made me want to write something was just how different the opening title music was in most of them.

So, seeing how it’s NHL playoff time i figured it’d be perfect to talk about 90’s fictional basketball.

We’ll start in order of release, pick a winner and a loser.

PREDATOR (1987)

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Here’s one of those classic movies, that everyone, everyone, has talked or written about. In fact its movies like Predator that fed the cottage industry of movie review channels in the 10’s. Which is (and the fact that PREY has spurred me onto a re-watching of the franchise) a great reason why i should talk about it here on Ten Years Too Late.

So let’s get straight into it.

PREY

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Hey hey, long time no write we’ll just get straight to it here.

GHOST IN THE SHELL (1995)

by xdimov on deviantart

 

This is another one of those “High School Movies”, and i’m going to take a stab at a generalisation and state that a lot of people my age (nearly 30) probably were introduced or exposed themselves to Anime in and around their mid to late teens.

The movies watched were likely some combination of Akira, Ninja Scroll, Ghost in the Shell, and some Miyazaki movie (likely Princess Mononoke, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, or Spirited Away). As these were the most praised in the early days of the internet, and easily accessible with the advent of DVD’s becoming the dominant format of home theater experiences.

Now it goes without saying that i have just projected my Anime viewing experience onto you as the reader, which is something that you’re going to have to live with as this is a one way conversation and i am all knowing and all seeing by virtue of writing a post on the internet. But to get back onto subject i was blown away by those early forays into Anime, i was always a fan of animation (being a kid when i was had me experience the 90’s animation renaissance first hand) and those films opened the door to an adult and mature part of it without having to seek out offensively incomprehensible garbage like Wizards or re-live horrific nightmares like Rock & Rule…

To get further on topic; i must state that i haven’t watched Ghost in the Shell in a very long time (circa 2008). So i was curious what i would think of it when a buddy came over and suggested we check it out (as he never watched it himself).

 

DOOM

This is awesome in every way imaginable

 

I guess this is going to be a review of sorts, there’s no rating as i don’t feel comfortable enough in my ability to dissect game mechanics enough for a rating to be a fair statement of quality. I’ve also at this moment in time not finished the game, but i simply can’t hold myself back about writing on this and i feel that i’ve finished enough of it that the rest of the game won’t change my opinion so keep that in mind.

When i did my looking ahead at 2016 movies post back in January i really did get a knot in my stomach that this year’s summer blockbuster season just wasn’t going to be an exciting one for me.

I’ve only watched 3 movies in theaters this year; one was incredible, one was an abomination, and the other was just… meh. So, with that in mind i’ve had to look for my summer jollies elsewhere and let me tell you i looked in the right place.

When i bought this game i will admit that i lost faith in the modern FPS genre; Brutal Doom reignited my faith in the genre but what about the AAA offerings? Can a big budget game break free of the homogeneity of the current FPS genre and once again deliver a satisfying experience for me? Can it answer the most crucial question?

LADY SNOWBLOOD & LOVE SONG OF VENGEANCE

 

It has been a frightfully long time since i put up something here, the reason for that is that i’m currently writing a series of posts that are probably the biggest ones to be put on this site to date and it has been taking up a bit of my time. To be honest though so has Dragon Age: Inquisition…

Anywho, i recently watched the excellent Criterion release of the film in the title and figured it would be suitable for a review.

DRAGON BALL Z: LORD SLUG

this isn’t as cool as it looks

 

Well this movie just shows to me that after the apex of anything comes the inevitable fall…

DRAGONHEART

 

Here’s another one from my childhood (and i’m sure may others as well) that i recently revisited, let’s see if it holds up.

MACBETH

 

That teaser is better than any poster.

I’m too excited about this movie to write a normal intro, i’ve tried to a few times and honestly the only thing i can say is that this is more or less the version of Macbeth that i imagined, wanted to see, and wanted to make since i first read it in high school. You reading this need to see this film, it is a travesty that it was ignored by the Oscars completely, however considering the Oscar’s have also nominated films like Norbit i say that not getting a nomination is proof of its quality.

contrarian view points and effective rebuttals

the poster for the “The Force Awakens” is fucking ugly, this is better

 

I’m of the belief that just about anything other than math* is going to be a matter of opinion, this is especially so when it comes to art and its appreciation. Again, there’s no such thing as an “Objective” opinion. None. Zip. Zero. You can use objective facts to form an opinion around them, but in the end almost anything is arguable.

I’m with totalbiscuit when he states that what people want when they say “objective review” is that they want the reviewer to step outside of themselves, to aim to be not completely insular so that it is a useful tool in a purchase or something similar. My initial reaction was to reject that in my reviews, but now i believe that you have to step outside yourself a little in order to think critically.